Summer at Stanford
by kaycee96
Summary: Gabriella Montez was chosen to go to Stanford for the whole summer. As she packs her bags and hits the plane, she finds out that there is much more in store for her than just an Academic program when she meets a cute boy with a mysterious past. TG HIATUS
1. Chapter 1: The Airplane

**A/N: So, I wrote this, at the spur of the moment. Haha. And the full summary is below. And, I think that's it! Haha, I'm not really sure about this story, but I'll try to update. I'm going to need some reviews though, just to let me know if it's good or bad or something. Anyone hear about that virus? It starts with a C or something…not sure exactly what to do about it. I updated the…haha…the Windows Update stuff just now. Haha, and it's pretty weird. So, I'm thinking, just transfer all your stuff onto a USB and I think maybe, I'll delete all the history on the internet. I hear it can steal passwords from websites you logged into before. So, I guess this new computer is going to turn new-ish all over again! Dude, that thing is super smart, I don't know why people make these viruses anyways. It's like…killing computers. Hahaha, it was so funny cause I read some blog about it and I felt like I was reading about a new human disease that will erase human minds away. Hahaha. Well, I guess that's not too funny. But you can read this and it'll make me happy!**

"Mom!" It started with a yell; a yell from Gabriella Anne Montez's mouth. The sound traveled from her vocal chords to her throat, making its way out of her mouth. Then it traveled from her room, down the stairs and to the kitchen, where Elena Montez was standing. As the sound rang, it made a path to Elena's ear, alerting her that her daughter needed her.

Elena Montez sighed and put her knife and onion down on the cutting board. She walked up the stairs and through the hallway towards Gabriella's room. "What do you need?"

"Mom! Look!" Her 18 year old daughter pointed and jumped at the same time at the computer screen. On the screen were pictures of random students. Elena scrolled her eyes down the screen until she saw the face of her daughter. In panic, she looked at the top of the screen reading the title, _Stanford: High-School Senior All-Summer Academics Program_.

"Oh my! Gabriella, dear! This is wonderful! "She ran over to hug her daughter.

"Mom, it starts in 2 weeks. I have to pack! I have to, we have to, oh my gosh, we have so much to do! Mom, I can't do this! I don't have all the supplies, I can't pay for it! Mom, we can't pay for this! Oh, I shouldn't go anymore, I can't go anymore, too much money, we can afford this right?! Right mom?" Gabriella stopped pacing and stopped, staring at her mom.

"Gabriella Anne Montez! You are going to this program whether you like it or not! This is a great opportunity! A once-in a lifetime chance! Gabriella, you are going to Stanford for a special summer program! I _want_ you to go. You _have_ to go." Elena put her hands on her daughter's shoulders, he daughter who was more like a best friend to her. She pushed her towards the screen of the computer and clocked on Gabriella's picture. She sat Gabriella down on the chair, "Look, that's you. That's your picture."

Gabriella sat still and looked at it, her mom was right. "You are going to that program, and you are going to top the business of dogs! Pickle Juice?" Gabriella smiled.

"Cranberry Seed." And it was decided, she was going to the summer program.

***

TWO WEEKS LATER

"You have everything right? You have your toothbrush?"

Gabriella smiled, "Check."

"What about a pillow, did you bring your pillow?" Gabriella leaned in forward and hugged her mom.

"I have everything, I've even got my cell phone, "She held up her blue and black flip phone showing it to her mom, "I'll call every second I can. I love you."

"Oh, I love you baby. Be safe."

_Flight AA5 boarding. Gate 4B. Albany, New York to San Francisco, California, no boarding. Gate 4B._

Gabriella gave her mom a nervous smile. She was going to spend a whole 3 months without her mom, her best friend. What the good part was that she had just moved to Albany making it easier for good-byes. Less people to miss.

She gave her mother one last hug before giving her ticket to the lady at the gate and walking through a sudden feeling of emptiness hitting her stomach. She tugged on the string of her backpack feeling queasy about being all alone. She'd heard about the disasters that happen on a plane. She stopped in her walk negotiating in her head whether or not to turn back. Would you rather be in the air, or on solid, safe ground? The imaginary scale weighed, with safe, solid ground broke the floor. She turned on her heel.

_Flight AA5, Albany, New York to San Francisco, California. Last minute passengers._

She groaned and turned back around running to the plane. Once she put her bag in the casket above the seats, she sat down on her assigned seat, D23, the middle of the three-row. Uncomfortably, she slipped her shoes off and put her feet up. She took out her iPod and a book. As she slipped on her earphones and chose Shuffle, she opened her book to the last chapter she had read _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ (I don't own).

"_Chapter 8: The sun was up so high when I waked, that I judged it was after eight o' clock. I laid there in the grass and the cool shade, thinking about things and feeling rested and ruther comfortable and satisfied. I could see the sun out at one or two holes, but mostly it was big trees all about, and gloomy in there amongst them." (Excerpt from: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)_

She turned away from her book when she heard, "Ahem." A male voice cleared his throat, "My seat is D22, the window-seat." I just looked up at him and stared. He had the bluest eyes and sandy colored hair. His plain white shirt showed his abs perfectly and his arms flexed a bit as he held up his bag. "Hello?" He chuckled at me then put his bag in the casket next to mine.

I turned my head immediately and went back to my book trying so hard to read but all I could see were words, not sentences. _There were freckled places on the ground…_ I began to think about him again. I shook him out then went back to reading. _ There were freckled places on the ground…_

"Um, miss?" The boy! Now there were two of them, the blue-eyed boy and a boy with an afro. They looked at me blankly then at each other.

"Sorry, I was just reading. And then…I think I forgot. But, I could get up. I mean," I took off my head phones and closed my book, putting them in my small bag then getting up. I scooted in between them as they moved apart to let me stand.

"Thanks." He sat down on his seat and started right away, playing with his PSP. I took my seat and got comfortable again. It was harder than the first time, especially since I was so unfortunate as to have to sit next to two boys.

The boy with the afro sat down after me then introduced himself as the blue-eyed boy kept on with his PSP.

"I'm Chad." He stuck his hand out towards me and I gently shook it. "I'm Gabriella."

"Oh! That's cool! You know, there's this girl in my class, her name is Gabrielle! Isn't that cool, your names are so alike; so close!" He smiled frantically while his hair shook with his bouncing.

"You're scaring her dude. Lay off." The blue-eyed boy, still looking at his PSP, fought with Chad.

"Oh, at least I'm talking to her, you and your PSP. I'm starting to think maybe that _thing_ is your best friend. What about _me?_" Chad said. Then Troy sighed, turned off his PSP, and looked at me.

"Hi, I'm Troy. That's Chad. And you are…?"

"I'm Gabriella."

"Hmm…Gabriella…"He thought for a while, "That's a pretty name." He turned back to his PSP. Chad tapped me on the shoulder and smiled.

"I think he has the _hots_, for you." He whispered. As he said hots, he put his hands up as if he was raising the roof. I blushed and looked down suddenly remembering my iPod and book.

I slipped my earphones on and started to read again. _There were freckled places on the ground…_

"Gabriella?"

I put my book down and in the pocket of the chair in front of me knowing I wasn't going to be doing any reading on this ride. "Yes Chad?"

He smiled, "Can I call you Gabster?"

"Sure."

"Okay, _Gabster_, what were you reading there?"

"Um, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

"What, are you doing some reading program or something? Is it one of those things at the library when you fill up charts when you finish a book or something? Is there a cash prize? A pizza coupon?"

I laughed, "No, I just decided that I wanted to read it, again. It's a pretty good book actually. Not boring."

He gasped, "How do you do that?" He said it slowly as if it was unbelievable.

"Um…" I laughed again, I like him already, "I just…read it?" I smiled. He looked away from me and leaned forward to talk to Troy who had put his PSP away and was looking out the window. We had already left the ground and I hadn't noticed.

"Troy!" Chad stage whispered, "This girl, Gabriella or Gabster," he smiled at me again to show he didn't mean any offense, which I didn't take, "yeah, well, she's reading Huckleberry Finn for…_fun._"

Troy just looked at me and I found myself blushing again. I don't want him to think I'm weird or anything.

"Well, "I protested, "not exactly for fun, just for, well. For contentment." I said.

"Contentment _means_ happiness. Happiness basically leads to fun. So, you're reading a literature book for contentment and fun? That's like…twice the fun of it for you!" Chad looked at me disbelievingly.

Troy shook his head then Chad, "So what you traveling to California for? Troy and I are actually going to Stanford for a High-School Senior All-Summer Basketball Program." I stared at him in disbelief.

"Really? I'm going to the Stanford High-School Senior All-Summer _Academic_ Program." We just looked at each other.

"Wait, so that means we'll have all summer together?! No way! Gabster, this'll be awesome. I like you already Yo! Isn't this going to be awesome Troy?" Chad had a full-out burst of joy right then.

"Yeah." He looked at me, I'm not exactly sure where he was looking, but it wasn't my face. I felt like shrinking. I felt like wilting like a flower under the magnified sun. I felt like…I felt l like I was blushing. I turned away again not being able to take his look.

"You know, Troy only does that for girls he has the hots for." Chad whispered to me knowingly with the same smirk on. I slumped in my chair a little before closing my eyes. Only 4 hours and 30 minutes left. Only 270 minutes left.

***

ONE HOUR AND 7 MINUTES LATER

I moaned and slid down my chair to stretch like a always did after a long movie, but in this case, a long nap. I stood up and stretched. I had a warm kind of feeling inside me, the kind that makes me feel like sweating. I wiped the sides of my mouth to check for any drool then sat back down in my chair with a huff, feeling new and refreshed.

I looked to my right to see Troy sitting in his chair staring hard at me. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just that you were all quiet and then you just…I don't know. You made that sound and then practically _slid_ down the chair…then you stood up. I just thought you were possessed or something."

For the first time, Troy had said really long sentences to me and for some reason, it made me happy, so I smiled.

"What are you smiling about? I practically just insulted you." He looked surprised and for some reason, amazed or something.

"Oh, I don't know. I guess you just, I mean, you just talked to me after—"I paused, "Wait, how long have I been asleep?"

"Probably an hour or so, but I don't really know." He chuckled, "I don't time people when they sleep." I blushed, of course he wouldn't have known. Stupid me.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Yeah, do you were saying?"

"Oh, yeah! Um I was just amazed that you talked to me because you hadn't really been…talkative." I was at a loss for words.

"We've only known each other for about an hour." He paused, "or so." He raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't laugh, I'm just saying." I slumped again and looked to my left. Chad was gone. "Um, where's Chad?"

"Oh, Chad? Yeah, he went to the PR."

"Oh…" I sat back down half confused at what he'd just said. PR, was that like…where you bought the drinks or food or stuff? Did he…go to..the portal? Okay, what the heck am I thinking?! I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. Maybe PR stood for…Past Rain? Or something like that. I didn't realize that Troy was still watching me. And as if he'd just read my mind, he answered.

"The PR is…"he leaned over to whisper in my ear, "Potty Room." I burst out laughing after hearing this.

I pointed at Troy trying to hold in my laughter, "The…the—" I spit out my laughter, and I imagined in my head a huge balloon being let go letting it fly around freely. Weird, but that's exactly how I felt. I hadn't laughed like this in a long time.

I finally calmed myself down to look at Troy who was flushed, the red tint on his cheeks growing deeper. "The…The—" I laughed ginormously again, "Potty Room!" I said it whiling laughing. I felt tears coming out of my eyes, the funniness not leaving.

It wasn't really that Potty Room was so funny to die, it was the fact that here was a 18 year old like myself telling me that his best friend is in the Potty Room. Who calls it that anyways? And how could I have thought it was Past rain or a Portal?

I laughed some more until I felt his hand cover my mouth. "Shut up Gabriella! People are starting to stare!"

I looked around the plane and sure enough, there were all the people. The ones who were awake and the people that had just _been_ awoken stared at us appalled. I slowly closed my open mouth feeling Troy's hand on my lips.

He pulled his hand back quickly and just looked from my lips to his hand. He closed his eyes and I couldn't take it anymore; I looked away and frowned. _"I'm sorry Troy. I didn't mean to." _I thought of saying that to him but even just a simple sorry would have been awkward. At least, awkward to me. I practically had just kissed his hand.

Just then, at that exact moment, Chad came back and plopped down on his seat. "So, what'd I miss?" He eagerly smiled wanting to hear something exciting.

I peeked at Troy but all he did was fidget in his seat, putting his legs up and holding his backpack on his lap. Once he found a comfortable spot, he looked at the window, then dug in his backpack for something interesting, ignoring Chad's question all together.

I sighed and answered, "Nothing."

"Oh, I just thought maybe you guys would have at least talked." He shrugged his shoulders and just looked at me and Troy expecting one of us to talk. But none of us did.

I realized that I had nowhere to turn, on my right was Troy and on my left was Chad. I knew Chad wanted to talk but I wasn't up for it. And Troy, gosh, I'm embarrassed to even look at him. So I put my head down in between my legs studying the carpet designs.

It was just plain business carpet, not the soft and fuzzy kind, but the one that was just flat and hard, nothing comforting at all.

**A/N: And review please! Tell me if it was soo boring you wanted to puke your guts out from it. Just, tell me all the bads and goods about it! Tell me new ideas! Tell me everything! Tell me how to protect my computer! Hahaha, well, this is weird now. I've noticed that I write really long author's notes and stuff. SO, REVIEW AND TELL WHAT YOU YOU THINK! :]**

**--Kaycee. **


	2. Chapter 2: Stubborn Luggage

**A/N: So, personally I want to thank each of you who took the time to review this story! It means a lot to me so thank you **_**xkiss me in the rain, JenK508, ps269, ZanessaxXxSupporter, and my first reviewer, ChocolatexChickaxCasey95! **_**And to all the people who put it on alerts and on favorites and stuff, **_**OfficeFlan, ChocolatexChickaxCasey95, yams14, ZanessaxXxSupporter, zanessa is tru love, ps269, palmbeach, Troyellslovefan, disneychick1990, zaccys-baby-v, loves to read15, emankcin31, jrfan81, wildcat hoops ghirl, Mrs. SterlingKnight, and kerber1920! **_**Another huge thanks again! Hahaha! Well, I'll try to keep updating and you know, keep the story interesting! Don't hate me if it starts to suck…haha, just tell me if it does. **

"_We will be landing in approximately 30 minutes."_

The sound of the pilot's voice went all around the plane. I lifted my head from my legs feeling the rush of blood fall to my chest. I held onto the closest and the most stable thing next to me as the plane wobbled in my eyes. I closed them shut to get the shakiness out of my head. As everything settled (and after I scolded myself on how stupid it was to put my head down in between my legs for such a long time), I looked at what I was holding; Troy's leg. Troy was looking right at me with wide eyes. I took it off embarrassed; _again._

I heard Chad snicker. I snapped out of my trance as glared at Chad who was innocently reading an instruction manual for his new video camera. He looked at me, "What? I'm not the one who grabbed onto Troy's leg for my dear life."

I scoffed, "Really? I don't believe you." The blush fell from my cheeks, vanishing.

His mouth dropped, "But you were just holding his freaking leg! I saw you with my own eyes Gabster. I saw you! Geez you freaking pulled your head out from in between your legs and then you just _grabbed_ onto his—"

"Prove it." I smirked when he opened his mouth to say something, closed it and opened it again.

"I like you." He suspiciously squinted his eyes at me. "I always knew you weren't so nicey-nice and like _'Oh! I'm reading Huckleberry Finn for fun! I love reading! I'm smart!'" _

I laughed at this he felt like the best friend that I've been needing ever since I was born. I mean, I never really actually had friends because of how nerdy I was and because of the multiple times that we had to move. But with Chad, I felt like I could be myself, unlike Troy, whom I manage to embarrass myself in front of him 24/7.

Oh! Right, Troy! I turned to him who was doing nothing again; I bet he felt the most awkward with the three of us. "I'm sorry Troy, for grabbing your leg…" I sighed slightly then mumbled so that only he could hear, "and for the thing with your hand earlier."

"What thing with his hand?" Chad butted his afro in between the seat and my head causing his afro to get all over my face. Once it got into my nose, I tried to hold in my sneeze, but failed, unfortunately.

_Achooo!!!_ I turned my head just in time to sneeze in my arm away from Chad and Troy.

"Bless you." A male voice said, Troy's voice.

"Thanks." I blushed. I must've looked awfully strange during that sneeze. And there I go, managing to embarrass myself, _again._ All I knew at this time was that if it had just been Chad and me, I clearly wouldn't have been embarrassed, then why with Troy?

Quiet fell over us again, the sound of my sneeze echoing in my head becoming more and more distant as the quietness stilled.

"So…what thing with Troy's hand?" This time, I had scooted a little farther from Chad's hair making it able for me to answer. But before I could, surprisingly, I didn't have to because Troy stepped up and answered. I think he knew I was going to say the truth.

"Nothing, just some accident. Gabi was laughing I covered her mouth then…yeah." He took in a deep breath. "_And that she had _kissed_ my hand and suddenly I felt a really shocked and for some reason…good. And I don't want to relive it again, but I want to. Again. And this is starting to not make sense so. Um…well, that's the whole story." _ Troy completed the sentence in his head trying to get it out of his head that just by one accidental kiss on the hand could do that to him.

"Exactly." Gabriella said after Troy had explained. "I was just being loud and rude and…loud."

_Please buckle up! We will be landing in 5 minutes! Enjoy your last five minutes of your ride!_

All three of us buckled up. I was thankful that we were landing; I was tired of sitting around all day. I think my butt is getting a cramp, like those really bad ones you get after biking on a rock hard seat.

"You know what I hate?" Chad said as he squirmed in his seat.

"What? Your hair?" Troy said sarcastically. I giggled and then he looked at me. I stopped immediately embarrassed, _again._ I bet he thinks my laugh is weird just like I do.

"No. Actually, I love my hair, thank you very much. I hate it when people don't tell me the whole truth." Chad looked at Troy and I. My face immediately stoned hard as rock in embarrassment, how did he know? I looked at Troy who was fidgeting with his seatbelt buckle.

"Yeah?" he said still playing with the seatbelt, "Well, I really hate these seatbelts. They were clearly not meant for adjusting. You'd think it would be especially in a public transportation thing." He stopped playing with it once he felt the gravity pulling the plane down. I felt like screaming out loud, if there was something that I loved a lot, it was roller-coasters, and I haven't been on one in three months already. Instead, without attracting attention, I laughed quietly and mentally screamed.

"You like roller coasters huh?" Troy asked me and I felt the tension immediately disappear.

"Yeah I do! I _love_ them. But I haven't been on one for 3 months now. And I really, really want to go on one. And this feels like one sort of. And, well, a really tame one anyways." I know, I ramble when I get excited.

"I actually hate rollercoaster." He said.

"What?! No way! What's there to hate about them?"

"They just…they just mess up your stomach and your hair…and the lines are really long. And it's only 3 minutes. Plus, you could get hurt." He pointed all of the negatives.

"Well, Mr. Pessimist, when we land, I'm taking you on one."

"Then I'm not coming." I laughed at his childness. And for some reason, he laughed too. But I was too shy to ask him why he was.

_And…we're down! Thank you for using United Airlines. Hope you enjoyed your ride!_

For the first time since I got on this plane, I didn't appreciate the pilot's voice. I hated him, actually, for some strange reason. Because I felt something there. And Troy was actually being…genuine. The flight attendant at the front ushered all the passengers off the plane and back onto the safe ground.

Chad was already up, so I followed. He got his bag and his bigger bag in the casket, pulling them down and waiting in between another row of seats for me and Troy. As I was reaching for my carry-on in the casket, I felt troy's hand on my shoulder.

"Wait, I'll get it for you." I stepped aside as he got both of our bags.

"Thanks Troy." I smiled at him and he smiled back. I know that I'm not going to have to suffer being alone this summer.

***

The three of stood by a big machine waiting for our luggage. I eyed each luggage that passed by me carefully. Unfortunately, lots of people had my brand of luggage.

"Um, it's black, with brown lining. And it had silver zippers. Uh…it kind of looks like that one," I said pointing to the one in front of me, "and sort of like that one too." I pointed to another one that was passing by.

"Okay," Chad said while squinting and putting his hand to his temples, "I think this is going to be harder than I thought."

"Yeah." Troy crossed his arms while his forehead was crinkled up in confusion. "I thought you were the type of girl who would get a luggage with flowers or something…I don't know, girly or something."

"What is that supposed to mean?" There was a hint of frustration in my voice as I glared at him. He was acting like this was his luggage with all _his_ stuff.

"I'm just saying. It would've been so much easier." He groaned, "This is going nowhere, you know what? Just forget what I said." He sighed as did Chad and I. "Did you write your name on it somewhere?"

"There's a tag on it." I walked around the revolving machine that had bags piled up on it. I started to dig in and read all the tags. Once I got to the fourth luggage, I yelled over to Chad and Troy who were doing what I was a few moments ago.

"I found it!" I said as I tried to grab on to it. I clasped my hands around the strap and gripped tightly. I grunted as I pulled; the luggage didn't budge. I let go and wrung my hands breathing in, and then tried again. I gripped onto the strap and pulled with a pained expression. I pulled and I pulled. Suddenly, my hands slipped and the next thing I knew, I was falling to the floor.

As I fell on my butt, I grunted again. I was stunned. I looked to my right seeing Chad and Troy standing there with red faces. I could tell they were trying not to laugh.

"Help?" I asked. Immediately, they were at my side with Chad getting my bag, and Troy helping me up.

"You…okay?" He asked me as he took my hand.

"Yeah. Don't worry, it happens all the time." I couldn't get myself to grin, but really, I didn't care. And for some reason, I wasn't embarrassed.

"I think, "Chad grunted, "that your luggage," he grunted again, "is glued to the bottom."

I laughed, "It's being difficult, isn't it?" I went over to help me, grabbing Troy's hand too. I can't lie; I felt something, like a small shock. It was small, but not small enough to not be noticed. I ignored it dragging him along with me anyways.

All three of us grabbed some part of my bag and pulled. "1! 2! And, 3!" We all put our strength into it and pulled. We all fell to the ground screaming as the bag finally let go.

I looked at the bag and burst out laughing. Then Chad started to laugh and so did Troy. _So far on my trip to Stanford for more Academic learning, I've wasted 20 minutes trying to get my luggage out._

***

After an uneventful ride, where we all just slept, we got out of the taxi. I noticed that not much people ride the taxi. We got all our luggages stepping inside the building of Stanford.

_**Stanford University**_. It was the start of all my dreams, and I really couldn't help but smile at the name.

**A/N: I think this was too short. But it'll all come together in the next chapter. I want to proportion them just right…I think that's what I'm trying to do. Hahaha! Well, PLEASE REVIEW! It means a lot to me, the 6 reviews that I've gotten :D Thanks guys! **


	3. Chapter 3: It's Nothing

**AN: So, here I am! With the longest chapter yet…it was like 5 or 6 pages? I really don't feel like scrolling the mouse all the way to the zoom thing and count. No way, too much work. Hahaha! Just kidding, it's just, thanks for the reviews and all the more story alerts and story favorite stuff! I love getting those emails, so PLEASE REVIEW! So I guess that the thank yous are going to come flooding down now! **

**So, thank you to: ChocolatexChicaxCasey95, JennCorinthos, girlpower8900, GoDisMyHeRo (love the penname by the way! He rocks!), and World of Peace. Thanks for the reviews guys!**

**Aaannnddd, thanks to: xxBabyVxx, Vanessa Leah Black, tottalymad, x-samandphil-x, missezhannahx, JennCorinthos, girlpower8900, xalexBx, GoDsMyHeRo, pinkflamingos988, Crazykenpogirl, World of Peace, sakuravixen, starry3y3dangel, and TonyZivaTroyGabriellaFan90 for all the favoriting and alerting stuff! Thanks again and please review! And enjoy the chapter!**

How was I feeling when I walked through those doors? Well, Happy, first of all, that I had actually made it through these doors after a whole life of wanting and imagining. Second, Sad, because I knew I was growing up and suddenly I would have so much more responsibilities, something I'm not sure that I'm ready for. And most importantly, Nervous. I actually had never been more nervous in my life. I mean, this is my head start to give the people here a taste or portion of me. And if I mess this up, I'll mess up my entire life! I can't go to any other college other than this! I've worked way too hard!

My lungs started to fail on me. I had never ever had a hyperventilating-breakdown-fainting kind of moment, but right now, I was feeling like I could die. I can't mess this up! Okay Gabriella, snap out of it! Breathe in, breathe out.

"You alright?" Chad asked me with concern written all over his face.

"Yeah, it's just. I don't know; I'm fine." My breathing started to even out. O gosh, I wonder how stupid I must've looked. Why do I worry so much about looks anyways? Who cares, right? Well, I do. Oh my gosh, do I look okay right now?!

I ran my fingers through my hair rapidly. "Um, Gabriella? You look fine, don't worry about it." Troy said nonchalantly. He was the calmest guy I've ever met. Or maybe I'm just too uptight…

We made our way to the auditorium, which was filled with kids for the All-Summer Program either for Academics, Sports, and Performing Arts. You got to choose one class out of those three topics; I chose Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences from Academics.

It was the same way in Sports, where Chad and Troy chose Basketball. By the way, I found out that they've been playing since birth and are completely obsessed with it which is slightly annoying, yet amusing.

The three of us took a seat next to each other with Chad on the left, Troy in the middle, and me sitting on the right. To the right of me sat an African American girl who was sitting oh, so professionally. She was in a tan pencil skirt and a white blazer. Her hands were folded neatly and placed over her crossed legs. She seemed like one to zoom for the success.

She also seems like a great friend.

Not that I have much experience.

But I'm pretty sure that I have the ability.

"Hi, I'm Gabriella." I smiled and extended my hand slightly towards her. I was kind of afraid of rejection.

"I'm Taylor McKessie." He smile back was pleasant, and she seemed way cooler than what she looks.

For some reason, Chad has been butting into my conversations, "I'm Chad Danforth. Nice to meet you Taylor." He shook her hand while she looked at me strangely.

Then he turned his head to me and said, "Hey, Gabster, can you maybe, you know…" It took me a moment, but I finally got it.

"Sure. Whatever you want Chadster." He smiled.

"Thanks." He stood up and traded seats with me. So much for becoming friends with Taylor. I sat down next to Troy. He, as usual, just stared off into space.

"Do you ever, talk?" I asked him. He jerked his view to my face and something inside of me tingled. Just a little.

"Well, yeah. If I have something to say."

"Oh, so you're that type of person who talks only when he really needs to, or if he feels like it, but when he does talk, it's usually something critically important?"

"Not exactly, nothing I say is important _important_. Just, I'll talk when I want to."

"I'm not judging you." I said.

"I know." He paused as if thinking of something important to say then finally spoke up, "Do you ever think that maybe what you're doing is what is right for you?" So suddenly, something very important about Troy was revealed to me. I've never been the type for all the drama-rama. That's mainly blamed on my lack of friends due to the consistent times that I've had to move, only staying in one place for a month or so. But something seemed really off about Troy, like he wanted to be here way more than I did, which is weird, because I've been dreaming about this since I was born.

"I think I've been on the right path but I can't say that I've gone a little off here and there. Why?" I asked him.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just really like it here already."

"Oh." I could feel quietness coming so I killed it making small talk, "So Chad said that you guys are basketball obsessed."

"Yeah," And he smiled, his smile, once again, making me smile, "I was captain senior year…which was last year. Last year of high-school. Isn't that weird, how fast it goes by?" He changed the subject.

"Yeah, I guess. So, you were captain?"

"Yeah, it was cool."

"That means you are really good. I should see you play sometime." I said grinning. I have no idea if that's flirting.

"Maybe." He had a lopsided grin, a grin that made my heart spin out of control. It was beautiful and mesmerizing. Something I've never seen before.

"What are you taking for the summer?"

"Oh, I'm taking Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. It's really interesting." I said, biting my tongue to not tell him more. What could possibly be more boring than a speech about psychiatry and the sciences of human behavior? I mean, it's interesting to me, but maybe not to a mysterious basketball captain.

"Really? Care to tell?" I tried not to smile bigger. If there was something that I really loved to talk about, it was this. I could go on and on about it without a break.

"Okay, so basically—"

"Welcome all students! Welcome to Stanford University! I'm Mrs. Astolot, the principal and board director here. To all you over achievers, I want to congratulate you on making it here! As all of you should know, this is an opportunity to get to know all your future colleagues for next year's freshman year! We'll help you all get used to a regular curriculum but let me tell you, this is going to be a whole lot easier than the real deal."

I sighed as Mrs. Astolot interrupted my talk about Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. I don't know if the sigh was for sadness or for relief. I was sad that I didn't get to talk about it, but yet relieved that I had saved myself from another soon-to-be-embarrassed moment.

"You all have signed up for a class, one class, which will be your major, the beginning of the year. You will have a lot of extra help and a lot of attention from the teachers because of how small the classes are going to be. You will have two weeks off before the real school year starts. It won't be that hard, you will only have a few hours in real school anyway."

"So, I hope you all enjoy your experience here! Let's start by separating the Sports and the Academic students and the Performing Arts students. I want the Sports to go the left wall and the Academics to go to the right and the Performing Arts Students to come up to the stage."

I looked at Chad and Troy, the only people I've met here so far, and waved goodbye. I was going to go into the unknown group of Academic people.

I knew this was the end of my hope. It was once at the lowest of the low, now it was even lower, if that was even possible. But then, as if she were a beacon of light, Taylor stepped right in front of me, smiling.

"I guess we never really had the chance to meet due to an interruption." This time, she was the one to give her hand, which I took and gladly shook. I laughed, her remark finally making its way to my head.

"Yeah. He's…odd. In a good way." We walked to the rest of the group. "I meant that he's pretty silly, yet cool…?" She just nodded, still looking forward.

I was offended, but not offended. Like, I was sad that she hadn't replied, but was slightly okay with it. But then I was distracted by the high pitched voice coming from stage.

"I'm Sharpay Evans and I'm here to sing!!!" She sang it so loudly; it bounced from wall to wall, making a huge impact on my ear drums. I couldn't dare cover my ears though; one, it would be rude, and two, she had a pretty voice, actually.

After her flamboyant introduction, she stepped back and grinned to a blond haired boy, then pushed him to the center of the circle that the students had made. He stepped forward, blushing, and in a voice that I could barely hear, he said, "I'm Ryan Evans and I'm a choreographer."

He stepped back obviously shy of all the eyes staring at him. I don't know how long I was staring at their group, that seemed way louder than the Sport's and Academics group, but it was long enough for Sharpay to notice me.

She smiled at me, her teeth almost blinding me by the angles of the light. Shocked, I stood still, and then she waved at me, still smiling. I smiled back, unable to resist, then she turned back to her group.

Around, me my group was looking at me. "Um, hi?" I said smiling awkwardly.

"Do you mind introducing yourself to the rest of the group?" A girl with braided pigtails and retro glasses asked me.

"Oh, yeah! Um, I'm Gabriella Montez." I waved to the large group of kids, 80 or so kids.

"What class are you taking?" Taylor asked who was standing right beside me.

"Um, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences."

"Oh! Me too!" A guy dressed in brightly colored clothes said. Once he said that, the whole crown turned and looked at him. "Oh! Um, my name's Jason Cross." He smiled hugely.

"Why don't we all just split into groups of what classes we take?" Taylor said clapping her hands together. She always seemed like the one to take control.

"I'll set my timer," her hand shot up from her sand, a timer suddenly in hand, "to fifteen minutes. Then we'll switch! So—AHEMM." She gave everyone a stern look. Boy, was I right.

"So we were given this time to mingle! Classes, separate!" She clapped her hands together with a smile while calling out classes that were printed on a list.

"Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences." I shot my head up and walked straight over to where she was assigning our group. The classes only had an average of 10 to 15 people; in my case, 10 people.

There was a girl with braided ponytails looking fabulously farm-girl like. There was some other boy who looked like he was ready to _kill_ me and everybody else in the room. With his jet black hair gelled back and a black leather jacket and his black ripped jeans and that left-sided Elvis Presley smirk he was always wearing.

I walked over to him, way amused, "Hi." I stuck out my hand as he shook it aggressively.

"Hey. I'm Trevor Dallas. What's your name?" His smirk was pasted on his face as if permanent.

"Oh, I'm Gabriella Montez."

"Oh! Gabriella Montez! I think your mom works with my mom. My mom is always talking about Elena Montez and her smart excellent daughter Gabriella Montez. It's weird actually."

"How embarrassing. Well, it's nice to know that I 'know' someone around here." I put air quotation marks around the word, know.

He laughed and suddenly he was smiling a real smile. "Yeah! That's true; it's going to be great with you in my class."

As I replied, someone else caught my eye. Troy was looking straight at me from across the room. I know, it sounds totally and hilariously corny, but it's true. If you want to know if we were the only ones in the room, it wasn't only us two. It was Troy, me, and a blonde girl who cut off our 'connection'.

"Hi! I saw you from up there!" she pointed to the stage where the rest of the Performing Arts people were mingling. "I'm Sharpay Evans! But, I'm sure you knew that. What class are you taking!? Where are you from? What's your name?!" Her smile was slightly crazy but all the more welcoming, like I could be myself with her. I looked right next to her to where Trevor was standing.

"Hey Trevor? Maybe we could talk another time?" I said hopefully, as much as I wanted to talk to him, Sharpay seemed jumpy and freaky and the sort of person who would be pissed off to be blown off. Plus, she already had a ton of questions.

"Oh yeah, sure! I'll catch you later then Gabs." He waved a small little wave then clicked his tongue, the smirk pasted back on his face. I turned back to Sharpay.

"You still want me to answer those questions?"

"Oh, yes! Absolutely!" She snapped her pink bubble gum. I don't know what was more stereotypical, her blonde hair or her pink bubblegum snapping.

"Okay," I ran over in my head all the questions she'd asked, "Okay, so first of all, I'm taking the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences class in the Academics group, um, I'm from Albany, New York, And my name is Gabriella Montez."

"Okay Gabby! Let me tell you about myself! She pulled me away from the big group of Academic students and into the middle of the auditorium. I saw Troy again who was talking to some other people but then turned his sight towards me. There was something about it, and this time, no blonde was popping up out of nowhere, and it was just us two.

I don't know if it means anything, I'm pretty sure it doesn't. I mean, he's only tall, and fit, and athletic, and cute, and nice, and mysterious. I mean, that's it, not much I guess. He smiled at me and I smiled back. Then he waved and I waved back. I bet we looked like total retards.

"Ooohhh, who's that hottie?" Sharpay said looking at him too. He turned his head away when a tall black guy hit him with a basketball and Chad screamed, "PWNED!"

"Oh my goodness, that guy is even hotter!" She said.

"What do you think of him?" she asked me.

"Well, which one?" And just like Chad, I felt like we were best friends already and will be forever. Big commitment, huh.

"There's only one to look at Gabriella. Do you mind if I call you Gabs?"

"Not at all." I smiled.

"Oh, yay! It's just, I heard that boy over there call you Gabs and I was just like, Oh! Catchy!"

"O…kay?" I laughed.

"Well, back to the real subject. What do you think of him?"

"Well, Sharpay, may I call you Shar?"

"Oh! Yes! It's so catchy too! It's like Gabs! Shar! Gabs! Shar! I don't know, it sounds awesome." She said as I laughed.

"Okay, this is like the third time I asked this, but what do you think? Do you think he'll like me?" she said sounding really serious for a chance.

"Who, Troy?" I said still confused of which guy she was talking about.

"Wait, you know him?" she looked at me totally flabbergasted.

"Yeah, I rode with him and Chad on the plane. They're pretty cool actually." I nodded my head.

"No way." She said with a straight face. "Introduce me." She commanded.

"What?" I said shocked.

"Please? I mean, you know him already." She begged.

"No way! I mean, no. It's just so weird. Go introduce yourself! His name is Troy Bolton and his friend is Chad Danforth."

"Okay fine." She started her way but then ran back to me, "But you're coming with me." She grabbed my arm and ran to where Troy was standing with the African-American guy and Chad. I screamed the smallest scream, also known as the biggest gasp.

Once we got there, Sharpay fixed her hair and straightened her clothes, a plain white t-shirt and dark skinny jeans with bright pink heels. I looked at my outfit, faded and ripped (not intentionally) straight jeans and a big green shirt with the logo "Lucky Charms" on it, and my favorite sweater, my Nightmare Before Christmas black hoodie with the big white skull on it. I looked atrocious compared to her.

"Hi! You must be Troy Bolton! I'm Sharpay." I kind of felt jealous; Troy would like her better than me, that's for sure. No, wait, what am I talking about! I don't even like him like that, and he doesn't like me either. Well, at least she's doing well.

Troy nodded at her and was about to reply but she walked right past him. I sucked in my breath, oh man, this is bad. She gently extended her hand towards the tall African American boy's hand and he shook it awkwardly. I bit my lip, oh gosh.

Then she looked over to Troy, "And I think your name is…" she tapped her chin, dang, she was a great actress, after being so hyper like she was before, "Oh right! You're Chad Danforth." Troy had a confused expression on his face. And he looked kind of cute.

"Actually, I'm Troy Bolton, and" he pointed to Chad, "That's Chad Danforth and, "he pointed to the tall guy, "that's Zeke Baylor."

Zeke smiled at her and gave a small wave smiling. "Heey…"

"Oh!" Sharpay said looking so not embarrassed. Well, there goes the friendship. "I'm sorry." I bit my lip and closed my eyes, not catching the strange look Chad and Troy were giving me. Embarrassed, I turned on my heel the hide somewhere quiet and small. Then I heard her.

"It's just my _friend_ here, Gabriella, I guess I just confused her and she was just trying to help me and I got it all mixed up. Hey, Gabriella! Come here, where are you going!" She ran up to me and took a hold of my hand, "Come on! I just mixed up their names, isn't that embarrassing!"

"I'm so sorry Sharpay!" I said apologizing as much as I could as we walked back to Troy and Zeke and Chad. I got the feeling that I was way more embarrassed than she was. I was blushing so bad, so horrible; I hate it when this sort of stuff happens.

"Oh, it's fine!" she waved her hand. I didn't know she was so forgiving and smiley and…cheerful.

"Thanks. I'm sorry." I said bashfully.

"Hello Gabster! Whatcha guys doing?!?!" Chad came over running and bear-hugged me. "Did you make any friends? Did you meet Taylor? Isn't she cool? She's so smart too. And she's—"He let go of his hug and then blushed as he walked backwards and leaned against the wall. I just looked at him; sometimes he could be so weird.

"And what, Chad?" Troy inquired with a teasing face.

"Nothing. I just ran out of sentences, I just didn't think. It's nothing!" We all just gave him a look. "What?" he said putting his hands out to mockingly defend him, "It's nothing!"

"Okay, whatever you say." Zeke said. It was the first time I'd heard him talk. I looked over to Sharpay, who looked way thrilled. She walked over to him and started talking to him as they walked away giving us a small wave and smile. I turned my look back to Troy and Chad, I guess it was just us three again.

"So, you guys want to maybe, go see…Taylor?" I said suggestively.

"Yes! I mean, okay." Chad said straightening his excited face. I laughed with Troy.

"Gosh, you suck at hiding it Chad. I can't wait to see you talk to her." Troy said teasingly. And I couldn't not laugh, I mean, everything he said amused me in a way. I wanted to hear every single word that came out of his mouth. I wanted to hear his voice.

But nobody has to know; I mean, it means nothing…right?


	4. Chapter 4: The Park

**A'N: So, sorry for the late update, this chapter is kind of…well, filler I guess. I was trying really hard to end it at the right place! But, this is my first real story, not a one-shot, and it's harder than I thought it would be. All the updating and connecting and all that jazz. So, yeah, here are my thank yous! To the reviewers: ChocolatexChicaxCasey95, JennCorinthos, girlpower8900, and World of Peace. And for the alerts, favorites, and all that stuff: MUW D'Bellegirl, XsugarbabiesX23, Eclypsexx, dreamy-blue-eyes, hollywoodbabe818, FaithlessGirl, HSMLoverAlways, and EdwardnDTL4eva411. Thanks again! Please review!**

If I could imagine my first Sunday at Stanford, it would definitely not be here, in Troy and Chad's room, lying on Troy's bed, right next to him, while we watched a movie with Chad and Sharpay and Zeke, and surprisingly, Taylor. Okay, let's go back to Friday, the day we all got together at Stanford, the day we all practically met.

So, after Troy, Chad, and I had walked over to Taylor, we talked to her, ripping her away from the rest of the Academic students and away from her organized mingling organization.

"What do you need?!" she said frustrated and upset that we interrupted her conversation with another kid after Troy had said that this conversation was 'urgent and completely important and if you don't hear it, someone is going to die.' I know, how stupid, that's exactly what I was thinking.

I gave him a questioning look. "What?" he mouthed as Taylor watched us suspiciously and Chad stood there nervously.

"So, what do you guys need? I have something to run over there." She pointed her thumb over her back to the group of kids mingling oh so organized.

"Um, hi Taylor." Chad spoke up and smiled sheepishly.

"Hello Chad." She said and raised her eyebrows.

"Um, Troy?" Chad said nudging Troy's arm with a fake smile on his face. Troy just put his other hand over his forearm and smiled at Taylor.

"We're all going to hang out, you know? At our room and watch movies and stuff... on Sunday. Just cool, fun stuff." He said nodding his head.

"Really? Who's going to be there?" Taylor said folding her arms, amused by the interaction.

"Well, I am, and Chad, and Gabriella," my eyes widened as I looked at his and he just ignored me, "and, um, Zeke? And, uhh," he tapped my shoulder and whispered, "Who's was that blonde girl over there?"

"Uh, Sharpay?" I said.

"Oh! Yeah, and Sharpay and you." He said and smiled satisfied with his answer. "Just a small little get-together.

"Ah. I see, you want me to come to your guy's room and watch movies and just, hang out." She said.

"Yes! You see, I knew you would get it.!" Troy said clapping and pointing his finger at her. I giggled and he spun his head around to me and just looked at me. I'll tell you, we have these weird moments and they happen at the most random times. I just looked into his blue eyes. His blue _oceanic_ eyes and just, drowned. Wait, snap out of it! He's just a friend, he doesn't like you like that, and neither do you! But, he's so nice, and handsome, and charming, and funny. And he doesn't like me. Maybe he doesn't like the way I dress. Maybe it's just—wait; I'm never going to change myself for a guy, even when he looks and acts like _that._

"What." I said slowly never taking my eyes off of his; as if I could.

"Oh." He shook his head, "Nothing, I just stared a little, it's nothing."

"Mhm." Taylor said looking from me to him. "Just give me your dorm number and what day and time." She said getting her notepad out of her bag.

"Yeah, okay." Troy said and wrote it all down. She snapped the pad shut and turned on her heel to the group of kids that just kept getting smaller and smaller.

"I didn't even talk. I'm so stupid." Chad said as we walked to the doors to leave. Troy and I just kept walking, still aware of what had just happened. Eventually, once we were out of the doors, Troy patted Chad's slumped back.

"It's alright buddy, we all mess up sometimes. But she's coming Sunday; it's going to be fine." Troy said.

"Yeah right." Chad said, and then turned to me, "Will you find out what she likes for me?" he said pleadingly, and really, how could you turn that down?

"Um, okay, I guess." I said unsure.

"Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he hugged me, "You're the best, really."

"Thanks…" I said. I do not know what I just got myself into.

***

I love the park; all the trees and the benches and all the grass. I've always loved just waling here and thinking about anything, about what the winter tree would look like in the spring, or when the birds would start singing again. I've always loved the park; it put me at ease…except for now.

So here I am, standing in the middle of the park. Okay, this sounds especially normal, nothing to make you jittery nor nervous or anything like that, but from where I'm standing, I see a trashcan with gum stuck all over it. Right next to it is a big bush. And right in between the cracks of its figure, is a pair of brown eyes to whom which belong to Mr. Chad Danforth.

"Chad, this is stupid, ask her yourself! Hang out with her yourself! Let me hangout with her with no visible ambition of trying to get answers from her!" I restrained myself from flailing my hands around, trying to act as normal as possible. I hate the fact that when you're hiding something, you can't act normal, and when you try, it's anything but normal.

"Gabster, I promise, I'll make it up to you. Now, do you understand the plan?" I could hear his voice from behind the bush where he claimed that he would hide.

"Please, go over it once more." I said sarcastically, but he apparently didn't get the point.

"Okay, so she said that she's going to meet you here right? Well, anyways, once you start talking, you ask her what she thinks about me and I'll be here, right here, and just to listen. I need to know Gabriella. She's just so beautiful, so nice, and so smart. You know?" I could hear the longing in his voice, which annoyed me to heck yet made my insides jitter from how cute he was acting.

"Aw, you're so in love. Yet so _stupid._"

"No, I am not stupid, I'm merely just a boy who's trying to know if the girl of his dreams likes him back, so shut up, and stick with the _plan._" Chad said.

"Fine." I said and stuffed my hands in my jacket's pockets. "Where's Troy?"

"Troy? Who said anything about Troy? Wait, why do _you_ want to know where Troy is?"

"Well, you two are always together, I just figured…you know…" I said shrugging my shoulders.

"Uhhuh, whatever you say Gabs. I can set you guys up if you want, you know, just for payback."

"No way! We're just friends. That's horrible. That's…weird." I said trailing off in my sentence, is it weird?

"Holy shoot! She's coming! Okay, now Gabster, stick to the plan, don't bail, help me, make sure she doesn't see me, and ask her! You have you have to ask her and make her answer!"

"Chad! Shut up!" I said and smiled and waved at the near-coming Taylor.

"Okay, just, thank you—"

"Hey Taylor!" I said happily and nervously.

"Hey Gabriella. Are we going to go for a walk maybe?" she said pointing to the trail nearby.

"Um, no." I said sternly, though I didn't mean it to come out that way.

"Why? Isn't that what you said we would do?" she said confused. I immediately mentally slapped myself. Why, oh why did I tell her that?

"Well, yeah, but I changed my mind." I said hastily and grabbed her shoulders when she was about to look behind her; and behind her was the bush. She looked at me weirdly and I smiled at her and lifted my hands off of her shoulders.

"Okay, then…" she said and I smiled gratefully that she'd let it go.

"So, yeah! Um, I just you know, I just, um, wanted to talk to you, about the thing that we're going to do tomorrow." I said, which was the first thing that popped into my head.

"Yeah…what thing?"

"You don't remember? The thing! You know, what we're going to do tomorrow, about the get together with movies and…stuff." I said racking my mind on how to ask her about Chad.

"Oh, yeah, I remember, what about it?" she said, the both of us standing in the middle of the park next to the dreaded bush and trashcan.

"Oh, you know, anything. What kind of movie do you like?" I said.

"Anything, as long as it's not all lovey-dovey and corny and stuff. Those annoy me." She said and a small, 'Yesss." Was heard behind the bush.

"Did you hear something?" Taylor said and spun her head around.

"Nothing! It's probably just the birds or," I looked around for other people, "Or those people and pointed but instantly put my hand down; it's not polite to point.

"No, it was awfully close, as if it was behind there." She said about to go and check behind the bush.

"Waittttt!" I said and grabbed her arm, spinning her around again. "Let's go for a walk."

"But you just said—"I snapped my fingers together.

"Well, I changed my mind again! Let's go for a walk! Come on!" I said tugging on her arm.

"Wait, I just want to check." She said and shrugged off my grip as I finally just let her check. As she got closer and closer, I could see another bush bobbing, and it wasn't green; it was Chad's afro. I watched as she walked behind the bush and he crawled in front of it and gave me a frantic look. "Leave!" I hissed at him and he took off running. Taylor came back from behind the huge bush and looked at me.

"Did you say something?" she said, confusion written all over her face.

"No." I said shaking my head frantically. "I didn't say anything!"

"Oh. I think I'm hearing things, you must think I'm crazy." She said apologetically.

"Oh, it's fine." I flung my hand in front of me, kind of like a lion would do.

"Okay, let's just go on that walk then." She said and I started the way.

"So, about tomorrow, what do you think? Of…um, me?" I said and slapped myself mentally again. Who asks that sort of question?

"Well, you're pretty cool, but to be honest, a little crazy." Oooh, burn.

"Hahaha, yeah. Only today." I said jokingly and she laughed.

"I think…that we're going to be pretty good friends." She said and I smiled.

"I hope so." I shook my head and got straight to the question, no more beating around the bush. **(Ahaha! Get it? Not funny? Okay, sorry…)**

"So, what do you think of…I don't know, Chad?" I said and put on my best nonchalant face.

"Chad? He's…hyper, seems…cool? I don't know? What am I supposed to think?"

"Oh, anything you want, you know. Is he nice, tall, or I don't know, cute maybe?" I said.

"Cute? Yeah, I guess." She said shrugging her shoulders. Then I turned to her excitedly.

"You really think so?" I said and she blushed.

"I don't know; I like the way he talks to me." She said not looking at me.

"Ahhh…so, do you like him?" I said.

"Like him? I've only known him for a day!" she exclaimed.

"Well? I've only known you and Sharpay, who's my roommate, for a day, and I like you guys."

"Yeah, a friend like, not a more than friend like though."

"Who said anything about a more than friend like?" I smirked and she blushed.

"I just assumed that you—"she protested.

"Uhhuh. I believe you." And I suddenly just had a flashback of when Chad and I were talking about this, only between me and Troy. I shook my head and looked at Taylor.

"I'm sorry; I know what you're feeling." I said and she just looked at me.

"What do you mean you know what I'm feeling?" she asked.

"Well, Chad thinks I like Troy. And what I just said to you, he said to me like, a couple minutes before you came." I confessed.

"Don't you like Troy? I thought you guys were dating or something." She said and I kept my face straight. Do we really look like a couple? Well, I mean, that's pretty cool I think—wait, why the heck am I thinking this?

"No! I mean he's like, well, him and Chad, are like my best friends. And Sharpay and…you?" I said and she nodded.

"How long have you known him?"

"Um, like…3 days." I shrugged.

"Three days?! How can you be best friends with someone in three days?"

"Honestly, I've never really had that much friends. You guys are actually the closest I've ever been friends with." I said. Saying it out loud, I actually felt like a loner, or more than a loner than I already am.

"Really?" she said in disbelief, "Why?"

"I don't know. I've moved around a lot. People didn't really like me." I shrugged, "That's way in the past now though." I said. "Do you think I'm weird now?" I asked.

"No. Just a little." She laughed, "But, nobody is never weird…if that makes sense."

"Yeah, it does." I said and we laughed as we walked the rest of the path.

***

I walked into my dorm where Sharpay was sitting at her desk using the web-cam. Quietly, I set down my jacket on the chair next to the door. I checked out my view from the door, there, about 5 steps away was my bed and right next to it were two desks (Sharpay and I had moved our desks so that we could work closer and talk easier). Next to the desks was Sharpay's bed. In front of all that were the two closets and the door to the bathroom.

It kind of seems cramped but it really wasn't; there was a mighty fine amount of clear space in between everything, just the way I liked it. I plopped down on my bed exhausted from the misshapen at the park.

"What's got you so tired?" Sharpay said while reading her Seventeen Magazine.

"Ugh, you have no idea." I said and closed my eyes.

"Yeah, I don't have an idea, which is why I'm asking you what's got you so tired?" she said throwing her magazine to the other end of her bed and walked over to mine, sitting next to me. You could tell she was a real gossiper, a total drama-lover.

"Well—"That was as far as I got until the door busted open. Both Sharpay and I turned our heads to the door where Chad was standing there completely flustered and breathless.

"What'd…she…say?!" he said bending over and placing his hands on his knees, his afro blocking our view from his face.

"Well, she—"Again, I was interrupted.

"Wait, what the heck is going on?!" Sharpay yelled. I flung my hands up in the air frustrated turning my head to Sharpay, getting myself ready to answer her.

"Well—"

"No! Answer me first!" Chad skidded his way over to my bed, kicking the door closed while doing so, and kneeled begging me with his eyes.

"No you don't!" Sharpay yelled, "You are answering me first!" She said pointing at me.

"No way! I asked her first!" Chad said directly at Sharpay. Then, Sharpay stood up straight and pointed at his face which was looking up at her.

"I asked first actually, before you even came into the room!" Then, Chad stood up, completely angered by this. I just sat on my bed, horrified by the fight happening in front of my very eyes.

"I asked before she even came into this room!" Chad screamed.

"I asked her the day I met her!" Sharpay yelled.

"That's not even possible you…you…you Blonde Pink Lady!" Chad stuttered the best comeback he could think of; but boy, I sure hope he was better comebacks when he's not frustrated and yelling.

"Blonde Pink Lady?! Is that the best you can do?!" Sharpay yelled. I watched and wondered to myself if they were friends.

"Um, guys?" I said timidly, completely scared that they would kill me, but they continued they're yelling. Suddenly, the door flung open again, I swear, that door will break if that happens again.

"SHUT UP!" a pale girl said with a few freckles and bright red hair yelled. Just as quickly as she came, she left, leaving us all stunned and quiet. The door hung open in the still air. I turned to both Sharpay and Chad.

"So, I guess, that, maybe, you know…" I said.

"Oh, yeah." Chad said in realization of what just happened.

"Oh." Was all Sharpay said.

"I'm sorry." Chad said all of a sudden and hugged Sharpay.

"Me too!" Sharpay said hugging back.

I'm really not sure what the cause of their bipolarness was but, really, I don't know what to think of it.

"So," Chad started when he was done hugging Sharpay, "Tell me what she said!"

"Okay, so first off, she said that she has only known you for _one_ day, limiting her feelings for you, but trust me, she feels something deep, deep down there, she just hasn't found it yet." Chad smiled successfully.

"So all I got to do is talk to her more, get to know her. Yes! Thanks Gabster! You are the best!" he hugged me tight and ran out of the door, most likely headed out to meet Troy… _Troy._ Well, I mean, what the heck am I thinking?

"And? My question?" Sharpay said suggestively.

"Oh, Chad just wanted me to go find out if Taylor liked him. He's an eager boy."

"Oh, and here I thought some big secret was hidden in your mind, like, you love Troy Bolton or something! Ha! That would be so funny! I mean seriously, You, Chad, and Troy seem like siblings its weird." She walked back over to her bed and chuckled while reading her magazine.

"Well," I said, hurt, and not sure why, "you like Zeke." She snapped her head at me.

"Well, yeah, at least I admitted it." She hissed knowingly.

"I don't even know him." I whispered to her, fearing that someone might come in and overhear our conversation.

"Then _get_ to know him. Geez, it's not rocket science."

I don't know how she does it, but she seriously says the right things even when she doesn't discern it.

**A/N: So, again! Review please! They mean the most to me! :D**


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